Clamp.



S. B. DERBY.

CLAMP.-

APPLIOATION `FILED 00T..23, 1908.

PatentedApr, 6, 1909 UNITED STAT- ES PATENT OFFCE,

SAMUEL B. DERBY, OF NORTH lONi-UVANDA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TCWILLIAM J. WALL, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

CLAMP.

No. 917,718. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented April 6, 1909.

Application filed October 28, 1908. Serial No. 459,249.

To all whom it may cen/cern: each other for clamping and tightening theRe it knownthat I, SAMUEL E. DERBY, a l cable by a flexible clampingrope D which citizen of the United States, residing at passes centrallythrough an eye d in a lug d North Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara lon the under side of the lower clamping i member C at its rear end, andhas its ends t) i wound in opposite directions around the and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful improvement in Clamps, of whichthe following is a specification. i clamping members, crossing eachother on This invention relates to improvements opposite sides of theclamp. The ends of in clamps in which parallel opposing clamptheclamping rope extend beyond t ie front ing members are employed whichare adaptend of the clamp, passing over and suped to engage a cable, orother article to which ported by laterally-extending ears E formed theyapplied, on opposite sides thereof on opposite sides of the upperclamping and clamp the same between them. member B at its forward end,and terminate The obect of this invention is to provide l in eyes Fwhich are adapted to be connected a clamp of this character of simpleconstrucwith the source of power which is to be api' tion, which willfirmly and securely clamp i plied to the clamp, the cable withoutbending or unduly comi rlhe .clamping rope is preferably crossedpressing any part thereof, and in which the l adjacent to the lug d togive the rope a force applied for drawing the clamping membetter' gripupon the clamping members and bers together into clamping engagementprevent it from slipping in the eye d, but with the cable, is exertedequally upon both this arrangement is not necessary. Further, members,and there is no endwise movethe rope may be wound a greater number mentof either member relative to the otherI of times about the clampingmembers than along the cable during the clamping operais shown in thedrawings without departing tion, thus preventing any disarrangement offrom the invention, and in the place of the L' the parts of the cable bythe clamping memsingle-clamping ropes, two ropes may be bers.substituted if desired, having their inner In the accompanying drawings:Figure l, ends attached to the eye d of the lower is a side elevation ofa clamp embodying the clamping member and wound about the invention.Fig. is a plan view thereof. clamp in opposite directions, similar tothe fi4 Fig. 3 is an elevation of the rear end of the single rope.clamp. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the front When the tightening strainis applied to end thereof. the outer ends of the clamping rope, thisLike letters of reference refer to like parts strain is communicated bythe rope equally in the several figures. to the outer faces of both theupper and ff A represents a cable, and B and C the opn lower clampingmembers and draws these posing members of a clamp therefor which memberstoward each other into clamping extend lengthwise of the cable andengage engagement with the cable without moving the same on oppositesides thereof. For the either member relatively to the other memsake ofclearness in description, the members B and C will be termed herein theupper and lower clamping members, respectively, as they are shown in thedrawings in this position, but it is obvious that these members may bearranged in any other suitable position about the cable, as may bedesired` These clamping members are preferably semi-cylindrical incross-section and are arranged with their inner flat faces adjacent toeach other, these faces being provided with central longitudinal groovesor channels b and c which are adapted to receive and partially embracethe cable for holding the same in position between the clamping members.The clamping members are drawn toward ber lengthwise of the cable, andthe greater ft the strain, the more firmly do the clamping members gripthe cable.

Tie clamp is especially intended for use upon electric power cableswhich generally consist of a plurality of small conducting wires whichare wound in different directions about a central core. character, theclamps heretofore used either engage only a short length of cable andtend to kink or bend the cable under strain, causing the wires of theouter winding to separate and forcing the inner wires outwardly betweenthe same, or permit of endwise movement of one clamping member relativeto the other along the cable and 1.1.3

On cables of this thus cause a displacement and disarrangement of theWires of the outer Winding. TWhen once forced apart and disarranged, itis practically impossible to return the Wires of the cable to theiroriginal position and straighten the cable, and as these clamps aregenerally applied to cables intermediate of their ends, suchdisarrangement of the Wires and bending of the cable is veryundesirable. rThe present construction overcomes these difliculties byengaging a sufficient length of cable to prevent hinking or bendingthereof, and by communicating the strain equally to both clampingmembers so that there Will be no cndWise movement of either memberrelative to the other.

To release and remove the clamp from the cable, it is only necessary tounwind. the clamping rope when the members may be separated and removed.For convenience in holding the two members together in handlingtlie'clamp when not in use, they are preferably connected on one side bya link G Which passes loosely through lugs or ears g on adjacent sidesof the upper and lower clamping members, but any other connection whichdoes not interfere With the clamping movement of the members may be usedfor this purpose, or such connection may be dispensed With altogether ifdesired.

l claim as my invention:

l. A clamp comprising longitudinal clamping members adapted to engageopposite sides of a cable, and llexible connecting and tightening meansconnected with said clamp and extending along and around said clampingmembers and adapted, under strain, to draw said members toward eachother and against the cable, substantially as set forth.

2. A clamp comprising longitudinal clamping members adapted to engageopposite sides of a cable, and flexible connecting and tightening meanscomposed of tWo lengths of rope which are connected with said clamp andextend. along both clamping members and around the same in oppositedirections, substantially as set forth.

3, A clamp comprising longitudinal clamp ing members adapted to engageopposite sides of a cable, flexible connecting and tightening meanscomposed of two lengths of rope which are connected with said clamp andextend along both clamping members and around the same in oppositedirections, and means on said clamping members for holding said rope inposition thereon, substantially as set forth.

4. ln a clamp, the combination of longitudinal clamping members adaptedto engage opposite sides of a cable, one of said members being providedat one end with attaching means and the other member at the 0pposite endWith supporting means, of two lengths of rope which are attached to saidattaching means on one of said members and extend along both membersandy in opposite directions around the same and bear Vwith their freeend portions u. on said supporting means of the other mem er,substantially as set forth.

5. In a clamp, the combination of longitudinal clamping members adaptedto engage opposite sides of a cable, one of said members being providedat one end With an attaching lug and the other member being provided atthe opposite end with laterally-projecting supporting ears, of twolengths of rope which are attached to said lug and extend along bothmembers and around the same and bear with their free end portions uponsaid ears, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 17th day of October, 190s. Y

SAMUEL B. DERBY.

Witnesses:

E. C. HARD, C. B. HORNBECK.

